Sealed Away: Shattering the Villainess's Delusions
Entry confirmed. Beep! That's when it happened. Right in the middle of my perfect staffing agency startup plan, a glaring red text started flashing in the center of my vision, popping up a holographic window like it was trying to sabotage me.
Original major character (villainess Ayla) detected in 'illegal confinement' status.
The World's Compulsion Force will intervene. If surface return not executed within 24 hours, the System Shop will be forcibly frozen for at least 14 days.
"......Hah. Fucking hell, what a pain."
I rubbed my dry face and muttered irritably. Illegal confinement? It was so absurd I nearly laughed. She crawled into the sewer on her own two feet, half-dead and bleeding out. I wasted my precious 5 SP on sleeping pills to save her ass, and this is the thanks I get—being labeled a kidnapper.
The priests are swarming the entrance right now. How the hell am I supposed to send her up?
This System's gotta be some rigid-ass AI with zero flexibility.
But rules are rules. The World's Compulsion Force, hell-bent on preserving the original plot, doesn't give a shit about extenuating circumstances. If Ayla ends up 'confined against her will,' the System will treat me like a jailer and lock the shop.
Only one way out.
The System's tripping over 'physical coercion.' In this situation where I can't just kick her upstairs right now, the loophole to legally dodge this warning was crystal clear: Make Ayla herself voluntarily—and desperately—want to stay.
In other words, frame it as 'voluntary stay' via a 'legitimate employment contract.'
To pull that off, I first had to crush that flower-field brain of hers, smash every ounce of noble arrogance and delusion until not even dust remained.
"Y-You bastard...! Are you planning to sacrifice me to open the gates of the demon realm?!"
Ayla was trying to hide behind a stack of combat ration crates, but she still clung to that sharp noblewoman tone.
"Escort me back to the ducal estate at once! I swear on the name of House Erzen. If you deliver me safely, I'll grant you gold coins you couldn't touch in a lifetime!"
"Miss, you were just being chased by the Imperial Knights and tumbled into the sewer. Yeah, sure, send you up and you'll shower me in gold."
"Th-That's...! With Father's help, it'll be resolved! Even Crown Prince Kasian might change his mind if Father mediates..."
Ayla denied reality, veins bulging in her neck.
"If you harm me, the ducal retainers will raze this basement! If you value your life, send me back now...!"
I let her blustering threats go in one ear and out the other as I opened the System Shop.
Beverages/Alcohol tab. Not zero-sugar cola—original Coca-Cola packed with sugar. Purchase.
A red can, beaded with cool condensation, dropped from thin air with a thunk. I hooked a finger under the tab casually.
Hiss—pop!
"Eek!"
The fizzy burst made Ayla flinch, shoulders hunching. To her, even a plain cola can looked like some dark ritual where the demon lord drained blood.
I chugged half the icy cola in one go. The caffeine and high-fructose corn syrup scraped down my throat, jolting my parched brain cells awake.
Can in hand, I headed to the console table in the corner. I picked up the CCTV monitor and carried it to the empty space in front of Ayla.
Clunk. Set it on the floor, unfolded a camping chair beside it, and sat.
"Seeing is believing. A thousand words won't dent that rock-solid faith of yours, so skip the emotional bullshit."
I jerked my chin, swiveling the monitor screen toward her.
"Wh-What's this? A crystal orb?"
"Close enough. Live feed of the sewer passage outside our Zone 17 Bunker entrance. Take a peek at what His Highness Kasian is doing about it."
Ayla's pupils quivered at my words. Fear mixed in her expression as she stared at the grainy black-and-white screen.
The sewer passage blazed like daylight. That dank rat-hole was swarming with dozens of old men in dazzling golden robes, sweating buckets as they formed ranks: top archmages from the Imperial Magic Corps and chief priests from the Sun God Cathedral.
"Wha...? The court chief archmage and high priest?!"
Did Kasian call in mages and priests just to catch her?
Despair clouded her face.
Telekinetic force from the mages' staves lifted massive objects into the air. Boom—thud! Heavy vibrations rumbled from outside. Multi-ton pure white marble blocks flew in on magic, stacking neatly in the passage.
"Wh-What's that...? Why are they building a wall?"
Confusion filled Ayla's eyes. I pointed at the monitor like a friendly sports caster.
"Oh, the chief priest just poured holy water. Nice—top-grade barrier mana stones? Gotta be worth hundreds of thousands of gold. Imperial budget's loaded. They're jamming those pricey stones into the marble wall gaps, sealing it with mana instead of cement."
"Sealing...? What nonsense!"
I smirked coldly and cranked the CCTV audio volume to max.
Static—screech! Outside noise poured into the bunker, echoing off the sewers.
"Hurry! Array the mana stones tighter! Not a single wisp of the ancient demon king's magic in Zone 17 can leak out! This is His Majesty's sacred decree!"
"Lady Ayla Erzen has already been sacrificed to the demon king, her soul devoured! Deploy triple barriers! Not even a rat can escape!"
The booming echoes filled the bunker. Ayla froze like stone. Her lively face drained to corpse-pale, hands trembling on the monitor.
"......What? Sacrifice? Sealed... permanently?"
A deflating wheeze escaped her lips. She turned slowly, like a broken doll, to stare at me.
"Lies... This is all your illusion, right? Those people on screen are fakes! They wouldn't order the live burial of me—heiress of House Erzen!"
I tossed the empty cola can aside and stood.
Emotional debate over. Time to hammer facts into her marrow.
"Illusion? Quit the denial. You saw Knight Captain Kellun get shot and flee in his undies, right?"
"Y-Yes! The captain knows I'm alive...!"
"That's why they've abandoned you."
My cold verdict choked her breath.
"Think about it. Knight captain gets thrashed by a commoner, stripped of gear, reports to the Emperor in his panties? 'Your Majesty, a sewer rat mugged me'? His head would've rolled for incompetence."
"......!"
"So he lied to save his skin. Not mugged by a peasant—'fought the ancient demon king to the death.' And you're the mad witch who colluded with it to summon demons. Right?"
My logical deduction stabbed like a dagger. She knew noble politics and scapegoating to her bones—no countering that.
"No... Father! House Erzen won't stand for this! Who am I? The only daughter...!"
"Crown Prince dumps you, brands you a devil worshiper—think your house backs you? 'No relation to that bitch,' and they strike you from the registry first. Gotta cut the tail to save the clan."
I patted her shoulder, pointing at the screen.
"Look closely. The Imperials have zero intent to rescue you. Your family ditched you. Your ex-fiancé's tossing you into the demon king's gut and slamming the lid."
The mages' work neared completion. My bunker's iron door was fully blocked by a meter-thick marble wall.
"Injecting the final barrier stone!"
With the chief priest's booming cry, the last rectangular marble block ground into place with a heavy scrape.
Rumble—boom!
The faint torchlight from the sewer vanished. The screen went pitch black; the mages' clamor cut to eerie silence.
Perfect isolation. Social death sentence.
"......"
Ayla stared blankly at the dead screen. No more denial. No illusion, no lies. The empire's power she'd trusted, her family's halo, Kasian's shallow love—all sealed shut with that marble block.
"Ah... Aaa......"
Ragged, metallic sobs leaked from her. Arrogance and fire crumbled. Legs gave out; she collapsed like a puppet with cut strings onto the cold concrete.
Silver hair scattered in dust; her palace-beauty face twisted in terror and despair.
No home to return to. All her badges of identity ripped away. Up top, she's the 'dead villainess eaten by the demon king.' Down here, just prey at a monster's feet.
"Hic... Hic, waaaaah......!"
Thick tears plopped from her red eyes. Beast-like wails of despair filled the bunker silence.
I gazed down at her trembling on the floor with a cool stare. Only those who truly grasp utter hopelessness sell their souls gladly to the devil offering a lifeline.
"Well, reality sinking in now?"
A thick capitalist smile curled my lips as I stepped to the sobbing duke's daughter's feet.